Sen. Bernie SandersBernard (Bernie) SandersSchumer: Franken should resignFranken resignation could upend Minnesota racesAvalanche of Democratic senators say Franken should resignMORE (I-Vt.), on Tuesday, blasted the GOP tax overhaul bill, arguing that its expected passage is a “victory” for the Koch brothers, Republican campaign donors, large corporations and even some lawmakers.

“Today marks a great day for the Koch brothers and other billionaire, Republican campaign contributors who will see huge tax breaks for themselves while driving up the deficit by almost $1.5 trillion,” Sanders said in a video posted on Twitter.

“Today is also a victory for the largest and most-profitable corporations in this country like Apple, Microsoft, Pfizer and General Electric, who, despite record-breaking profits, will now see hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks,” he added.

Sanders also indicated that some of his own colleagues had a personal financial interest in passing the bill, pointing to lawmakers who have real estate investments and will benefit under the new plan.

“Today is also a victory for a number of members of the United States Congress who have significant investments in real estate who, with this vote, will substantially lower the taxes that they pay and will further enrich themselves,” he said.

Sen. Bernie Sanders is traveling to Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania this weekend to rally against the Republican tax bill, his office told NBC News, keeping up a brisk pace of political activity since leaving the presidential race last year and ahead of a potential second one in 2020.

Sanders, who held a similar series of rallies across the country this year to oppose the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, is using his “Protecting Working Families Tour” to pressure on-the-fence GOP senators before a vote on the tax bill, President Donald Trump’s top legislative priority.

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In addition to condemning the bill for reducing taxes on the wealthy, Sanders is hoping to use the tour to argue the tax plan would pave the way for cuts to Social Security and Medicare, which have proved politically deadly for Republicans in the past.

The bill is expected to raise the deficit by $1.4 trillion, which the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office recently say could trigger an obscure budget rule that Democrats warn could force Medicare cuts.

“This legislation goes well beyond taxes,” Sanders wrote in an email that will be sent to supporters Monday. “Mark my words. If passed, the Republicans will then rediscover the ‘deficit crisis,’ and push aggressively for massive cuts in Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, education — higher education in particular — nutrition, affordable housing and more.”

“That is why I am going on the road this week to talk directly to working people,” Sanders added.

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Shortly following the Nebraska Public Service Commission’s “shortsighted and dangerous” vote to green-light TransCanada’s Keystone XL (KXL) pipeline, a coalition comprised of Indigenous peoples, farmers, and ranchers living along the oil project’s proposed route published a letter on Monday urging the public to join them in protecting sacred land from corporate exploitation.

Endorsed by Native tribes, green groups, and high-profile environmentalists, the “Promise to Protect” call to action argues that making “a concerted stand” against TransCanada’s $8 billion dirty energy project “will make other fossil fuel companies think that much harder about their own expansion plans.”

“Together we’ve stopped them for many years, and we are going to keep stopping them,” the letter reads. “But we need everyone’s help. We need you to take a stand no matter what land you live or work on. The struggle to save Mother Earth begins with you.”

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The letter goes on to make several requests of those who wish to participate in the “creative resistance” against KXL that is expected to take shape in the coming months, including:

*Commitment to entirely peaceful acts of protest, even in the face of “the pain caused by TransCanada’s aggression”;
*Respect for “the leadership of Indigenous peoples, farmers, and ranchers in the action, and the plans and strategies of the front lines and their allies who have made promises to protect the land, water, and climate”;
*Preparation in advance of the demonstrations, including training sessions with organizers, so that “you’re able to find the place you’re most needed on any given day.”

The fossil fuel industry “believes that with the inauguration of Mr. Trump, the obstacles in their path had disappeared,” the letter concludes. “They are unaware of the rising tide of indigenous unity and the strong alliances with ranchers, farmers and the climate justice movement which grew stronger at Standing Rock. When the president approved the federal permits for KXL last winter, he asked TransCanada executives when construction would start: Our job is to make sure the answer is, no time soon.”

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Native communities and environmental justice advocates in Louisiana opened a new resistance camp Saturday to oppose the proposed Bayou Bridge Pipeline project. Called L’eau Est La Vie, or Water is Life, the camp will consist of floating indigenous art structures on rafts and constant prayer ceremonies during its first two weeks.

The Bayou Bridge project, owned in part by Dakota Access Pipeline owner Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), would transport crude oil over 163 miles of natural heritage swampland to a terminal in St. James Parish in Louisiana. St. James residents and environmental advocates recently filed suit to overturn the pipeline’s permit, claiming that the state did not adequately address impacts of a potential spill on the community or surrounding wetlands.

“Once again Indigenous communities are being put in harm’s way and over 700 bodies of water will be threatened by one of the worst environmental offenders known to date,” said the Indigenous Environmental Network in a statement. “We stand with the Water Protectors here in southern Louisiana to protect these critical wetlands that serve as protection for the people of this region from floods and storms.”

The Indigenous Environmental Network announced the opening of the camp with the video above explaining why completion of the Bayou Bridge pipeline must be stopped.

Nebraska residents again pack a room and Nebraska residents again offer drastically different views of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline.

Hundreds attended the third public meeting held by the Nebraska Public Service Commission on TransCanada’s application to cross the state and complete the $8 billion Keystone XL pipeline. This time the setting was the Divots Conference Center in Norfolk.

Becky Van Housen, who farms in York and Polk Counties, told commissioners she worries about the impact on the Ogallala Aquifer, which supplies ten wells on her farm.

“This proposed Keystone XL pipeline cannot be allowed to cross the Ogallala Aquifer,” Van Housen stated. “A spill to the Ogallala Aquifer would not only threaten the drinking water of millions of Americans, but threaten the livelihood of hundreds and thousands of farmers and ranchers.”

Donald Trump’s so-called infrastructure plan is a huge giveaway to Wall Street that fails to create the millions of jobs we need to modernize our roads, bridges, water systems, rail, airports, levees and dams.

At a time when the American Society of Civil Engineers says we need to spend $2 trillion above current spending levels just to get our infrastructure back to a state of good repair, Trump actually cuts direct federal spending on our crumbling infrastructure by nearly $145 billion over the next decade. This would force state and local governments to shoulder more of the financial burden for our infrastructure needs at a time when they can least afford it.

Just like Trump’s “health care” bill is actually a $231 billion tax cut for the top 2 percent, his infrastructure plan would create $200 billion in new tax loopholes and other giveaways for wealthy investors, and it would reward corporations that have stashed their profits overseas with huge tax cuts.

Under Trump’s proposal, billionaires on Wall Street, wealthy campaign contributors and even foreign governments would receive hundreds of billions in tax breaks to purchase our highways, airports, and water treatment plants. They would then be allowed to impose huge new tolls and fees on the backs of American commuters and homeowners.

The reality is that Trump’s plan to sell off our nation’s highways, bridges, and other vital infrastructure to Wall Street, private investors, and foreign governments is an old idea that does not work.